Jehonadab (; "

YHWH The TetragrammatonPronounced ; ; also known as the Tetragram. is the four-letter Hebrew-language theonym (transliterated as YHWH or YHVH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four Hebrew letters, written and read from right to left, a ...

is willing";

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: Jonadab) was the son of Rechab. He is mentioned in 2 Kings 10:15-31. A Kenite, he was a supporter of

Jehu Jehu (; , meaning "Jah, Yah is He"; ''Ya'úa'' 'ia-ú-a'' ) was the tenth king of the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), northern Kingdom of Israel since Jeroboam I, noted for exterminating the house of Ahab. He was the son of Jehoshaphat (father ...

, son of Nimshi, in the elimination of the house of

Ahab Ahab (; ; ; ; ) was a king of the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), the son and successor of King Omri, and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, according to the Hebrew Bible. He is depicted in the Bible as a Baal worshipper and is criticized for causi ...

and in suppressing worship of

Baal Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The ...

throughout

Samaria Samaria (), the Hellenized form of the Hebrew name Shomron (), is used as a historical and Hebrew Bible, biblical name for the central region of the Land of Israel. It is bordered by Judea to the south and Galilee to the north. The region is ...

. Jehu seeks his support at a meeting in the desert and assures Jehonadab of his "zeal for the Lord". In the

Book of Jeremiah The Book of Jeremiah () is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the second of the Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. The superscription at chapter Jeremiah 1#Superscription, Jeremiah 1:1–3 identifies the book as "th ...

he is called both Jehonadab and Jonadab. He prohibited his followers from drinking alcohol, and is credited with founding the

Rechabites The Rechabites () were a Hebrew Bible, Biblical clan, the descendants of Rechab through Jehonadab. Biblical sources One theory is the Rechabites belonged to the Kenites, who accompanied the Israelites into the Holy Land and dwelt among them; the ...

. He also commanded that they live in tents, rather than houses. At Jeremiah 35:6-19, his followers are commended for adhering to his instructions, and God promises that his lineage will continue. A Christian book titled The Promise of Jonadab: Building a Christian Family Legacy in a Time of Cultural Decline by author E. Ray Moore and Gayle Moore cites Jehonadab is an example of a good father for Christians to emulate today.

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

use the terms ''Jonadabs'' or ''Jehonadabs'' to refer to Christians who hope to live forever on earth, rather than in heaven. The term was first used in this way in the early 1930s, though it is now used less frequently; Jehovah's Witnesses now usually use the terms ''great crowd'' (people who survive Armageddon) and ''other sheep'' (Armageddon survivors and others resurrected later). Witnesses believe that exactly 144,000 men and women will reign with

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

Christ in

heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

, out of all Christians who have died since Jesus' resurrection. They refer to these as the ''anointed'' or ''spiritual Israel'', and those still living are referred to as the ''remnant''. Witnesses believe that, in a similar manner to Jehonadab, as a non-Jew, assisting Jehu, the Jonadab class assists ''spiritual Israel''. The August 15, 1934 ''

The Watchtower ''The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom'', or simply known as The Watchtower, is an illustrated religious magazine, published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Jehovah's Witnesses distribute ''The Watchtower� ...

'' stated: Witness also use the more consistent meaning of Jehonadab as "Jehovah is willing."

References

{{reflist Books of Kings people Kenites Beliefs and practices of Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses

See also

References